Martinsburg gazette. (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1886-1887, 1887-03-04
JEHOVAH-JlREH.
THE lord Will PROVIDE, !"

Aau ISCOuISc 20 InlS reIuge-/GHOU1k
Jireh. During the silent watches of
the night God appeared unto Abraham
and said "Take now thy son, Mine
only son, vFom thou kovest, even Isaac
and get thee unto the land Of Moriah
and offer him there for burnt Offering
upon one of the mountains which will
tell thee Of"
Isaac means laughter. He was the
JOY Of the father and mothers heart.
He was the child of their old age. His
father was 100 years old and his mother
go, when the boy was born. He was the
child Of promise God had more than
once promised Abraham that he should
have son, and that his posterity thro'
his son Isaac should be countless as the
stars. He was their only Son-whom
they loved, their Isaac, their Joy. Now
the strange command comes, take him
and slay him with your own hand, and
offer him as burnt offering to the Lord.
What misgivings might have arisen in
some of our hearts. First, to offer hui
man sacrifices was barbaric, heathen-
ish practice, which God condemned.
Second, does not this command seem
to clash with all the promises2 Might
he not have argued possibly this is some
wild dream? But no, the manner of
communication was precisely the same
as on all former occasions when God
had made known his will. He had come
now to know Gods will, to understand
His language. Had God called on him
to offer anything else, or all else, would
it not have seemed easier and more
reasonable to call on him to do
anything else with his son rather
than STAY him, slay him with his own
hand 1t would have been hard to
have sent him away as Abraham did
Ishmael, with the hope Of sometimes
seeing him and knowing how he Jared.
The trial of his faith would he intensi-
fed as they went on that journey of
three days to that Mount where he must
immediate his beloved Isaac. zach step
must have broken heart string. Then
the constant sight of the wood, the
knife, and the fire for the sacrifice
and the lad. How fair and lovely his
son mast have appeared in his sight as
they pressed onward toward their des-
tiny. The questions of the innocent,
unsuspecting Isaac, My father, behold
the fire and the wood, but where i: the
lamb for burnt offering r" How these
words must have cut like a knife
through the fathers heart? Then as
he lay down at night under the star-lit
heaven, not to sleep but to look up and
watch, but no voice. Then memories
of his dear Sarah. the boys fond moth
err, would crowd into his heart. How
would he break the awful tidings to her
on his return Your Isaac is dead. He
is consumed to ashes. slew him and
offered him as a burnt sacrifice to God.
In turn, his imagination would rush
forward to the time when after having
built the alter, he would lay his hand
upon his son to bind him, when per-
haps his struggling son would resist as
a frightened wild animal conscious of
his danger and would piteous1y cry for
mercy. How can explain my seem
ingly cruel conduct either to my son or
to his mother? Was there ever Sc
verer trial of faith than this? But this
is true. God calls each one who would
be child Of Abraham, child Of faith
"a child Of God, to give up all to him.
We may not now understand the reason,
yet it may seem even against reason,
the only question for us to ask s'is it
certainly from God ~ Satisfied that
the command is from God, does it not
argue unbe1ief. disobedience, and even
rebellion to raise the question as to
whether the act is reasonable, essential
or even expedient. Illustration:
A year or two ago switch-tender on
the Hudson River Railroad had tefe-
gram from headquarters that an engine
was approaching at great speed, and
he must turn his switch so that it would
run straight into the river. He hes
itated to do such foolish and wicked
act but as soon as he knew that there